Skitty Movesets & Competitive Sets

With two priority moves in Fake Out and Sucker Punch, Skitty easily becomes an effective lead in Little Cup. Zen Headbutt is used for super effective damage against Fighting-types. With Fake Out easily luring in Ghost-types, Sucker Punch can be used to surprise them, often OHKOing them. However, be aware that most Ghost-types have access to Substitute and Will-O-Wisp, two moves that will allow them to easily handle Skitty. Feint Attack can be used over Sucker Punch to hit Ghost-types like Gastly, as they can use Substitute to get around Skitty. Life Orb is essential on this set; without it, Skitty can't KO many of the common threats she will face. Cute Charm is the preferred ability because Normalize prevents Skitty from hitting Ghost-types and Wonder Skin won't do much for a lead. With the given EVs, Skitty only hits 11 in both defenses, so don't plan on being able to take many hits. The common Mach Punch will do a lot to Skitty either way.

The combination of Normalize and Thunder Wave is a blessing for Skitty. Changing the typing of all its moves to Normal allows Skitty to paralyze Ground-type Pokemon such as Drilbur and Diglett. Sucker Punch with Normalize gives Skitty a STAB priority attack, which is extremely beneficial for revenge killing. Foresight is the icing on the cake as it allows Skitty to hit Ghost-types with the rest of the move set. Normalize is useful since it gives all of Skitty's attacks STAB. An Adamant nature is recommended because after Skitty paralyzes its foe, their Speed is cut by 1/4 and Skitty will become faster than them. With Oran Berry, Skitty will be healed at 50% of its health, aiding its durability.

Priority attacks are one of the most valuable resources in Little Cup, and Skitty is one of the only Pokemon in the game that has STAB on two: Fake Out and Sucker Punch. Fake Out is simply a great move for racking up free damage on the opponent while they can do nothing back, and Sucker Punch is very effective due to the offensive nature of Little Cup, very often giving Skitty the first hit on Pokemon trying to harm it. Not to mention that with STAB, Sucker Punch's Base Power is a massive 120. Return is Skitty's most powerful attack and should be used when a priority attack is either not needed (i.e. if the target is slower), or not strong enough (i.e. the target is still healthy). Baton Pass may seem odd at first glance simply because Skitty isn't boosting any of it stats, but it is invaluable in that it allows Skitty to scout for Pokemon that trouble it, and immediately switch out, giving good offensive momentum. Thunder Wave is a good option on Skitty because it is the only Pokemon that can paralyze Gligar with a 100% accurate move. It also lets Skitty cripple Rock- or Steel-type switch-ins; Rock Polish Aron, in particular, will have very little success sweeping when it is paralyzed. To illustrate the power of Skitty's attacks, here are some damage calculations: Life Orb Fake Out + Sucker Punch vs. 0/0 Gligar: 69.6% - 86.9% Life Orb Fake Out + Sucker Punch vs. 0/0 Houndour: 133.3% - 166.7% Life Orb Fake Out + Return vs. 236/36 Munchlax: 75.7% - 97% Life Orb Fake Out + Sucker Punch vs. 36/36 Machop: 95.9% - 120.9% Life Orb is the best option on this set simply because Skitty will not be living very long due to its poor defenses, so it should be trying to get as much damage in as possible. Silk Scarf is also a very viable option, as because all of Skitty's attacks are Normal-type, it gives them all a 1.2x boost, and doesn't inflict any recoil damage. Obviously, Skitty is one Pokemon that requires a lot of support to make it work due to its non-existant coverage. Pokemon with Pursuit help a great deal because they can trap and kill Ghost-types who are immune to Skitty's attacks. Good users of Pursuit include Munchlax, Stunky, and Houndour, all of which are great options. Steel- and Rock-types also pose a big threat to Skitty as they both resist Normal-type attacks. Diglett works pretty well thanks to its ability to trap and KO most of them with a fast, powerful STAB Earthquake. Magnemite can be utilized to deal with Levitate Bronzor.

Set Description Skitty boasts the powerful multi-hit Double Slap, hitting even Ghost-types as if immunities don't even exist. For those weaker foes deemed pathetic, Tackle is there to not waste Double Slap's limited use. With Skitty's beautiful voice, Sing can put the angriest of foes to sleep, assuming it doesn't miss. With Attract and Cute Charm, Skitty is able to charm, dazzle, and completely immobilize foes of any gender. With all this traveling, Skitty can also get hungry like any other Pokemon, so Stamina Band is there to not get fat from eating too many Apples. That's not an option on Smogon, though, so we convinced Skitty to go with the yummy Oran Berry. Some would consider this legend to be of the Hasty nature, but it wears this badge with pride. Though that might just be because that's its only option in the game. Team Options Skitty does not need teammates, but it allows them anyway as the pure soul that it is. It helps its besties like Cubone, Charmander, and Mudkip accomplish their dreams. With how quickly Skitty makes even more friends, it lets its new partners like Magnemite tag along. But Skitty's amazing selflessness doesn't end there, as it escorts weaklings like Nidoran-F to their lost young loves.